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Geothermal Technologies Office Hosts Collegiate Competition

February 7, 2014 1:00PM EST to October 1, 2014 9:00PM EDT

Final presentation will be in Portland, OR.

To further accelerate the adoption of geothermal energy, the United States Department of Energy is sponsoring a Geothermal Case Study Challenge (CSC) to aggregate geothermal data that can help us more accurately pinpoint the thermal resource. Managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the CSC currently seeks professors interested in structuring their geothermal energy coursework and assessments around this data initiative. We invite you and your students to take part in the 2014 Challenge!

Over the course of the spring 2014 semester, student groups at participating universities will produce a series of well-researched case studies detailing the exploration, development, and geologic history of selected U.S. geothermal resource areas. Case studies produced by each student group will be added by the students to the existing collection of data currently available on NREL’s Open Energy Information (OpenEI) platform, and will ultimately contribute to the development of a set of exploration best practices for evaluating future geothermal prospects and delineating between resources with similar conceptual models. Data will also be submitted into the National Geothermal Data System for worldwide access to geothermal-rich technical data by academia and industry developers.

The top five student groups that produce the highest quality case studies will be awarded paid travel for one student representative to present the team’s work in a poster session at the 2014 GRC Annual Meeting in Portland Oregon, September 28 – October 1, 2014.

Please visit the Geothermal Case Study Challenge home page for more information about taking part in the challenge this spring. University/professor sign-ups will close on 2/7/2014, so please register your class as soon as possible.